10 Easy Tips to save on heating

In celebration of the Freeze Your Buns Challenge, here are 10 tips to save on heating!

1) Lower your water heater settingYou can usually turn it down to about 120 degrees without noticing a difference.

2) Lower your thermostatFor every degree you turn it down you will save around 3% of your bill. If you like it warm, turn it down before you leave the house and turn it back up again when you get home.

3) Use free solar energyOpen the shades/drapes of the windows that face the sun. Close the drapes that don’t.

4) Cover your water pipelinesFoam covers are sold at Home Depot, Ace, and other home improvement stores. They are pre-cut and ready to go – all you do is slip them around the pipe. Easy, and they help your water stay hot5) Use a programmable thermostatYou can program a programmable thermostat to automatically warm up before you wake up in the morning and before you come home from work. It makes lowering the temperature of your home easy.

6) Change your air filterThis will cost around $5 and it will save 3-10% on your heating bill.

7) Seal leaksIf your door seeps air than add a sweep, if your window frame leaks than caulk it. Wherever you feel a draft, try to close it up.

8) Clear your heating ventsIf items are placed over or in front of the heating vent it restricts the air flow and causes your heater to work harder.

9) Do not overuse the bathroom and kitchen fansThese fans are designed to expel air to the outside at a super fast rate. Only use them when you need to.

10) Check your windowsIf you can afford the super insulated ones then go with that. They will increase the value of your house and save money on your bill. If you do not have newer insulated windows then make sure any spaces on your current windows are patched/caulked and you can also apply a thin layer of plastic. Many stores sell plastic kits that stick to the frame of the window. They usually cost less than $5 (Amazon has a 5 window kit for only $17) and you can use a hair dryer to shrink them to the correct size (you will never know they are there if you put them on right). These sheets will really cut back on drafts and will have a significant impact on your bill.

we just installed a Nest thermostat – both programmable and “learning” so it will program itself based on my habits. It has saved us a lot of money so far.Heidi recently posted..New #Printable #Coupons for #January

Great tips of advice! It’s amazing how solar energy can heat up an entire space with pretty much no effort. Plus, it saves you money and protects the environment. That’s a win win situation in my book! Thanks for sharing!

Thanks, some really useful tips on saving money and energy. I really think solar panels for your home are the way forward in reducing your utility bills. Trouble is they are still expensive to get fitted. It’s a lot cheaper to DIY it with pre made kits from the likes of Amazon.com etc.. You just need to be a little techie 🙂Dan recently posted..Teach Yourself How To Build A Solar Panel Home System

Hi,
The use of solar powered water heater can definitely reduce the consumption of non-renewable resources, thus you are making the world a better place to live.Viona recently posted..Whirlpool Refrigerator Water Filters

You can really save so much by following all of these tips. You should also check your doors for possible air access. Minimizing air access to the room can cause the heater or even a cooler to maintain a certain temperature for longer hours which can save you more.

Another excellent source of environmentally friendly ways to save on energy is foam insulation panels. When we renovated our home that’s what we used instead of regular insulation bats. The results are just brilliant!My tips for insulation recently posted..Downsizing to a Smaller Home – Storage and Packing Tips